Lezyne Road Drive CFH pump with cartridge

This is a very good CO2/mini pump that'll get both Presta and Schrader inner tubes up to high pressures – although you'll need to take preventative action to avoid problems if you use Presta valves with removable cores.

The Road Drive CFH (CO2 Flex Hose) is closely related to the Lezyne Tech Drive HP pump /content/review/57390-lezyne-tech-drive-hp-pump that we reviewed earlier in the year. The main difference is that the Road Drive CFH's hose is compatible with threaded CO2 cartridges. That hose lacks, though, the Tech Drive HP's Air Bleed System, which is a button that releases air pressure in the hose.

There's plenty to like here. First, the 24cm-long pump is a sturdy CNCed aluminium construction; the barrel, the piston and the handle are all built to last. I've used it loads over the past few weeks and would say there's little chance of the two ends of the pump coming apart any time soon.

The pump attaches to your inner tube valve with the aforementioned hose and there are no annoying air leaks like you get with many mini pumps. It's a very tough Kevlar/nylon-reinforced hose that comes with a threaded aluminium chuck on the end which you switch around according to whether you want to use it on Presta or Shrader valves.

Use the Road Drive CFH as a hand pump and you can get a lot of pressure into your tyres. I got a 23c tyre from zero to 110psi in 190 strokes. It's hard work towards the end and the pump gets pretty hot, but it can certainly be done. I even managed to get a tubular up to 160psi, as Lezyne promise, although goodness knows how many strokes that took; I lost count, but it was a lot. Still, if you're desperate, you'll get there in the end.

You can also attach the hose to a valve, screw a threaded CO2 cartridge onto the other end, then back the cartridge off a touch to inflate your inner tube. It's really easy.

The only problem I had – and it's a difficulty that Lezyne warn you about – is that if you use Presta valves with a removable core, when you try to unscrew the hose from the valve, the chances are that you'll simply unscrew the core from the stem. All the air that you've just pumped into the inner tube will come rushing out again.

I put a dab of grease on the hose threads and that helped, but sometimes the core would still come out. You don't want that to happen when you're on the roadside in the drizzle, so you really need to follow Lezyne's advice and put some Loctite thread locker on the valve core threads for peace of mind. Clearly, if you use valves without removable cores, this won't be an issue.

Rubber bungs on the ends protect the threads and a little rubber collar stops the handle vibrating against the barrel as you ride. I just carried the pump in a rear pocket and it never came out accidentally but you can use the CNC-machined aluminium bracket if you prefer. It fits to your bottle cage mounts (underneath a bottle cage, if you like) and it holds both the pump and a CO2 cartridge securely.

Verdict

Top-quality mini/CO2 pump that'll get high pressures into both Presta and Schrader tubes.